Apparatuses and methods for the production of hollow containers made out of plastic, such as ampules, are prior art in a plurality of embodiments and are widely used in packaging systems for liquid or paste-like products, for example in conjunction with the known Bottelpack® system. A comparable blow-molding, filling and sealing process for producing receptacles, such as containers or ampules, is disclosed, for example, in EP 0 359 971 B1.
The prior art also includes container products produced in this manner with an external structure. In this respect, DE 103 28 198 A1 discloses an embossing method, in which a corresponding structure is produced through embossing on the container product or on a separable component thereof. The embossed structure, which is thereby produced by a depression, forms an identifying marker representing the characteristic data of the plastic container. In particular, this data may take the form of code numbers, which may provide information about the location and date of production, as well as the type and quantity of the respective contents of the container, among other things, including any expiration dates for the contents of the container.
This characteristic data may also be provided in an unencrypted format in order to inform the end user base. To that end, the characteristic data takes the form of alphanumeric characters or letters. Characteristic data of this kind is preferably applied directly to the container product in areas that include the interior of the container product with the fluid or other medium thereof. In this case, the embossing processes should be undertaken with care to avoid puncturing the container product during the embossing process, which puncturing could lead to the contents of the container becoming unusable.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,627,858 A describes a method for producing a foam-like surface region on a thermoplastic wall of a plastic article from the group of polystyrenes, polyamides and the like. The plastic component is first steeped in a medium and subsequently locally heated by a CO2 laser having a wavelength of 10.6 μm to form a foam-like region on the plastic component that can form a structurally introduced identifying marker.
DE 196 45 871 A1 describes a method for the production of molds. At least two differently colored plastic granules are mechanically mixed, for example by a hot pressing method or injection molding with two more components. A laser inscription is subsequently applied by “vaporizing” the plastic material in the region of the lettering.
The known methods for introducing a structure in a plastic component still leave something to be desired with regard to the shortness of the duration of the method, as well as the precision and the recognizable clarity of the structure that is to be produced.